Space Travel News
SUPERPOWERS
Macron wraps up UK state visit with defence pact 'reboot'
Macron wraps up UK state visit with defence pact 'reboot'
by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) July 10, 2025

French President Emmanuel Macron wraps up a three-day state visit to Britain on Thursday with a summit aiming to "reboot" defence ties with a focus on joint missile development and nuclear co-operation.

Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are also expected to discuss maintaining support for Ukraine and curbing undocumented cross-Channel immigration.

Ahead of the summit, which follows two days of events spanning pomp and politics, trade and culture, France and Britain announced their "defence relationship" will be "refreshed".

They will order more Storm Shadow cruise missiles -- long-range, air-launched weapons jointly developed by the allies -- while stepping up work on a replacement system.

The missiles have been shipped to Ukraine in significant numbers to help Kyiv in its war with Russia since 2022.

Starmer and Macron will also agree to deepen nuclear cooperation and "work more closely than ever before on nuclear deterrence", according to Britain's defence ministry.

A new declaration will for the first time state that the British and French deterrents are independent but can be coordinated, and that an "extreme threat to Europe" could "prompt a response by both nations", the ministry said.

- Threats 'multiplying' -

The partnerships -- to be developed under a refreshed Lancaster House agreement first struck in 2010 -- herald a new "entente industrielle", making "defence an engine for growth", it added.

"From war in Europe, to new nuclear risks and daily cyber-attacks -- the threats we face are multiplying," Starmer said in a statement.

"As close partners and NATO allies, the UK and France have a deep history of defence collaboration and today's agreements take our partnership to the next level.

"We stand ready to use our shared might to advance our joint capabilities -- equipping us for the decades to come while supporting thousands of UK jobs and keeping our people safe."

Late Wednesday, at a speech to London's financial community, Macron said the two countries were "stronger together".

Starmer and Macron will also on Thursday dial into a meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing" on Ukraine.

Britain and France are spearheading talks among the 30-nation coalition on how to support a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, including potentially deploying peacekeeping forces.

Starmer's office said this week that the call would "discuss stepping up support for Ukraine and further increasing pressure on Russia".

They will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to the French presidency.

- 'Innovative solutions' -

Macron's visit, the first by an EU head of state since Brexit, has been loaded with Anglo-French bonhomie and unifying rhetoric, alongside the usual pageantry of such occasions.

Macron and his wife Brigitte received a particularly warm welcome Tuesday from the Francophile King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

The pair toasted a new "entente amicale" at a lavish state banquet at Windsor Castle, hailing the importance of cross-Channel relations amid various emergent threats.

Wednesday saw the French president's visit turn to politics, with a Downing Street meeting with Starmer focused on migrant small boat crossings -- a potent political issue in Britain.

It is set to feature again at Thursday's summit.

Downing Street said the two leaders had "agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model" of cross-Channel people smugglers.

Macron also met with Anglo-French business representatives during the visit, while joining Starmer at the British Museum to formally announce a landmark cultural exchange.

France will loan the famous Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England, to the British Museum for 10 months from September 2026.

In return, London will lend French museums the collection from the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo site, one of England's most important archaeological sites, as well as other medieval "treasures".

bur-jj/jwp/tw/sco

Tapestry

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SUPERPOWERS
Ecuador's Noboa plans referendum to reopen U.S. military base in Manta
Washington DC (UPI) Jul 8, 2025
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said a national referendum will be held by the end of 2025 to decide whether to allow the return of a U.S. military base in the coastal city of Manta. "The installation of foreign military bases is one of my government's priorities to strengthen international cooperation on security," Noboa told the Corriere della Sera newspaper during a recent tour of Europe. He added that support could also come from European nations to help Ecuador combat transnationa ... read more

SUPERPOWERS
SUPERPOWERS
Bioplastic habitats could sustain algae growth for space colonization

Mars lost habitability due to its own climate self-limiting cycle

Red, white and blue on the Red Planet

European students complete immersive analog Mars mission in Portugal

SUPERPOWERS
Spacecraft Bus Commissioning Complete for NASA's Arcstone

Chinese 3D printing system uses lunar soil to construct habitats

New Ocula imaging service to deliver detailed lunar data from orbit

Japan's ispace blames 'hard landing' on moon on Laser Range Finder

SUPERPOWERS
Unexpected Dust Patterns Found on Uranus Moons Confound Scientists

SwRI study shows Europa's icy surface constantly reshaping

The hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers up a surprise

Jupiter Was Formerly Twice Its Current Size and Had a Much Stronger Magnetic Field

SUPERPOWERS
Meteorite amino acid triggers nanocavity formation in common clay

Clingy exoplanet may be triggering destructive stellar flares

Earth-sized planets commonly found around smallest stars reveals CARMENES data

New exoplanet discovery reveals rare gas giant through global citizen science effort

SUPERPOWERS
Rocket Lab partners with Bollinger Shipyards to transform Neutron sea recovery platform

K2 Space validates satellite systems in orbit and fires record-breaking thruster

Wave-tested airbag system boosts safety for ocean spacecraft landings

Electrolyzer experiment from SwRI and UTSA to fly in low gravity test mission

SUPERPOWERS
International deep space alliance launched in Hefei China

China launches international association to boost global access to deep space research

Chinese Long March Rockets Make International Debut at Paris Air Show

China Shenzhou XX crew advances cognitive and biotech research aboard Tiangong

SUPERPOWERS
NASA spacecraft captures detailed images of Donaldjohanson asteroid

Third-ever confirmed interstellar object blazing through Solar System

NASA raises chance for asteroid to hit moon

Asteroid 2024 YR4 poses low risk of Moon impact in 2032

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.